Game apparatus.



G. JOHNSON-JERVIS. GAME APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 3, 1910.

972,382. Patented 0ct.11,1910.

Fig-1;

Fig- 5 Fig. 6

WITNESSES:

- To all it island or group of islands 3 servin UNITED STATES; PATENTOFFICE.

GEORGE JoiansoN-Jmtvis, or NEW YORK, N. Y.-

GAME arrana'r'us.

Be it. known that I, GEORGE JOHNSON- JERvIs, a citizen of Great Britain,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Game Apparatus, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My inventionrelatesparticularly to apparatus for playing a gamesimulating naval operations.

The accompanying single sheet of drawings' illustrates one form ofapparatus'em- -bodying' the invention which will be more clearlyunderstood from the description hereinafter set forth.

Figure 1, is a plan view of a board or chart or table on which the gameis played. Figs. 2, 3 and 4 are side views of the pieces for moving onthe board and representing respectively a battleship, a cruiser and atorpedo boat or destroyer. Fig. 5, is a perspect-iveview of a cup andcube constituting one form of chance device for determining the resultsof gun fire. Fig. 6, represents a number of perforated disks forattaching to the vessels to indicate hits thereon.

The board or chart or table which for convenience will be termed a chartrepresents a body of water and the contiguous territory about which thenaval operations take place. There are two or more ports such as 1 and 2representin the base of operations of opposing naval .orces. I alsoprefer to provide some intermediate areasuch as an as a refuge orrendezvous for the vesse s and which constitutes a barrier to oerations.

The area representing the water 18 preferably divided by a series oftransverse and longitudinal lines into a plurality of relatively smallsquares.

Each player is provided with a plurality of pieces representing vesselsfor instance one destroyer, two cruisers, and one battleship andthevessels of the opposing forces are suitably distinguished from oneanother for instance by difference in color. The

rules of the gaine provide that these different vessels shall bepermitted to move different distances in a single turn for instance, adestroyer being naturally of high speed permitted to be moved 6 squaresor less in one turn, a cruiser being relatively slower may be moved 4squares or less in one turn and a battleship somewhat slower still isSpecification 6r Letters Intent. Application filed January 3,1910.Serial m5. 536,061.

permitted to move 2 squares or less in one turn. This capacity formoving may conveniently be termed radius of o eration. A vessel may bemoved in any irection between parallel lines on the chart or in straightlines along the diagonals of the squares of the chart. The vessel isconsidered to be upon the square on which its bow rests and in moving,the square on which it rests is not included within the count. At thebeginning of the game the vessels are within their home ports and eachplayer in turn moves his vessels from his port toward his opponent,moving" such one of his vessels as he desires. As the opposing vesselsapproach one another they come within range of gun fire. For thispurpose the dif- Patented 0ct.'11,' 1910.

ferent types of vessels are considered to have different ranges ofaction for instance the destroyer can shoot only 2 squares, the cruiser6 squares and a battleship 8 squares. When a vessel moves within rangeof action of the opponents vessel the opponent may open fire byoperating the chance device to determine whether or not his vessel hitsthe other. Any suitable form of chance device such as dice,spinning-wheel or dial may be employed. I have illustrated a simple-cubehaving the word Hit upon each of a pluralit of sides and being blank onthe other sides. Ifthe side marked Hit comes uppermost when the cube istllI'OlMIl from the cup on to the chart the vessel firing is consideredto have hit the opposing vessel whereupon one of the hit rings or disksshown in Fig. 6 is placed over the mast of the vessel struck. The turnthen passes to the other player and if his vessel is of the same typeand has the same of the. battleship. The difi'erent vessels-areconsidered to have different resistance to gun fire and are thereforepermitted ,to be subjected to different numbers of hits for instance, adestroyer is put out of commission by two hits, a crui er may requirefou-r'hits and a battleship six hits. A vessel receiving the maximumnumber of permitted hits is ture of interest into the game. In this casewhile the vessels moving and firing is counted from the square on whichits bow rests it may be fired at by any vessel whose bow is ina-straight or diagonal line with any part of it. Such a vessel in itsnext turn may be moved out of range by swinging about its bow or movingin the usual manner.

The different types of vessels may be readily distinguished from oneanother in any suitable manner as for instance by size, design or numberof smoke-stacks. I also wish it understood that each vessel may be givena different radius of action or different gun range or a difl'erentresistance to hits than is herein set forth so long as the principles ofoperation are embodied substantially as described.

Another variation in the rules which gives increased activity to thegame is to permit the player to fire immediately upon coming into rangeof an opponents vessel. This prevents the players from totally avoidingan action by successively retiring.

What I claim is 1. A game apparatus comprising a chart having anoperating surface consisting of a water area divided into spaces andhaving ports for the opposing fleets, a plurality of pieces for eachplayer representing vessels of different radii of 'action and diflerentgun I range and means for determining the hits.

2. game apparatus comprising a chart having a playing surface and fleetsfor the opposlng players each consisting of a plurality of vesselshaving different gun ranges and difl'erent resistance to hits, means fordetermining hits and devices for attaching to. the vessels forindicating hits.

A game apparatus comprising a chart surface, a fleet of vessels for eachof t e opposing players, each fleet having vessels of diflerent radii ofaction, diflerent gun range and diflerent flesistance to hits and meansfor determining its.

4. A game apparatus comprising a chart constituting a playin surface, afleet of vessels for each of t e op osing players, each fleet havingvessels of difi'erent radii of action, difi'erent gun range anddifferent resistance to hits and means for determining hits and'meansfor indicating hits upon the vessels.

5. A game apparatus comprising a chart having its principal area dividedinto squares extending in transverse and longitudinal directions, afleet of vessels for each of the opposing players each fleet consistingof a plurality of vessels of different sizes for moving on the chart andmeans for determining hits.

6. A game apparatus-comprising a chart having its rincipal area dividedinto transverse and ongitudinalseries of squares, a plurality of fleetsof vessels each fleet consisting of a plurality of vessels some of whichare of greater length than the dimensions of said squares and means fordetermining hits substantially as described.

7 7. A. game apparatus comprising a chart having its princi a1 arearepresentmg water divided into a p urality of spaces and having an areare resenting land constituting a barrier, a lhrality of fleets ofvessels each fleet consisting of'a plurality of vessels having differentranges of gun fire and means for determining hits.

8. A game apparatus comprisin a chart having its principal arearepresenting water divided into a p urality of spaces and having an arearepresentin land constituting abarrier, a plurality of eets of vesselseach fleet consisting of a plurality of vessels having diflerentrangesof gun fire, means for determining hits and some of the vessels in afleet having different radii of action from other vessels in the fleet.

9. A game apparatus comprising a chart having its principal arearepresenting water divided into a plurality of s aces and having an arearepresenting lan constituting a barrier, a plurality of fleets ofvessels each fleet consisting of a plurality of vessels having.different ranges of gun fire, means for determining hits and some of thevessels in a fleet having difi'erent radii of action from GEORGEJOHNSON-JERVIS.

Witnesses:

ROB'1.. S. ALLYN, ELISHA W. MCGUIRE.

